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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Hyde and Hare (1955)

Hyde and Hare (1955)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Warren Foster
Animation by Gerry Chiniquy, Arthur Davis, Virgil Ross, Ted Bonnicksen
Music by Carl Stalling

Bugs Bunny talks his way into being adopted by a kindly elderly man who feeds him carrots daily in a park. The man is Dr. Jekyll, who has created a potion that turns him into a hulking, green-skinned, red-eyed brute – the alter ego is never called Mr. Hyde in the film, but we all know who it is supposed to be. Bugs is pursued by this violent monster, who keeps turning back into Dr. Jekyll every few seconds before becoming Hyde again. Of course, Bugs never figures out the two very different figures are the same person.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Rabbit Rampage (1955)

Rabbit Rampage (1955)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ben Washam
Music by Milt Franklyn

In my opinion, “Rabbit Rampage” is the worst of the Bugs Bunny cartoons – which is curious since it is a sequel to “Duck Amuck,” which is my choice as being the best of all the Warner Bros. cartoons.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Hare Brush (1955)

Hare Brush (1955)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Warren Foster
Animation by Ted Bonnicksen, Art Davis, Gerry Chiniquy
Music by Milt Franklyn

Not unlike last week’s entry “Sahara Hare,” “Hare Brush” gets off to a great start with original humor but strangely falls flat midway through with dull and tired gags.
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The Bootleg Files: Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too!

BOOTLEG FILES 909: “Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too!” (1969 animated short).

LAST SEEN: On DailyMotion.com and several other sites.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A one-shot outing that came at the end of Warner Bros.’ animated theatrical run.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Maybe in a Warner Bros. anthology collection.

The last iteration of this column featured “Rabbit Habit,” an underground parody film that imagined a drug-hazed post-script for the Warner Bros. animated characters. In retrospect, “Rabbit Habit” would have been a better sign-off than “Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too!”, a 1969 short that was completed just before the celebrated animation studio finally ended its theatrical output.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Sahara Hare (1955)

Sahara Hare (1955)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Warren Foster
Music by Milt Franklyn
Animation by Gerry Chiniquy, Ted Bonnicksen, Arthur Davis

“Sahara Hare” gets off to a great start when Bugs Bunny burrows his way into the middle of the Sahara Desert and mistakenly believes he is in Miami Beach. Bugs happily runs across the desert to take a dip in the Atlantic Ocean, but the endless hot sands confuse and exhaust him. “Man, dig this crazy beach,” he exhales before hitting upon a tiny oasis. Mistaking the oasis pond for the ocean, he dives in headfirst, but winds up with a headful of mud from the pond’s shallow bottom.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Beanstalk Bunny (1955)

Beanstalk Bunny (1955)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ken Harris, Richard Thompson, Abe Levitow, Keith Darling
Music by Carl Stalling

A cute idea with a meh execution, “Beanstalk Bunny” reimagines the fairy tale with Daffy Duck as Jack, Elmer Fudd as the giant, and Bugs Bunny as an interloper who joins in the mayhem. Bugs went up the beanstalk before with “Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk” (1943) and found himself in a land of giants when he challenged Paul Bunyan’s dog in “Lumber Jack-Rabbit” (1953), so it was a bit strange to have him back for a third time in this type of a setting.
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